Three Drops of Blood
by Drifting Red Snow
Summary: Yes, when Rima and Shiki decided to go on a holiday to America, they DID expect to see a different race of vampires. What they didn't expect was to actually participate in a battle that highlights the rule of the animal kingdom: 'survival of the fittest'.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone~! I'm writing for the first time, and ****ask you guys to support me ^^ My first fanfic, and therefore I'm excited to write it.**

**So, just some general information:**

**VK vampires will include Toya Rima and Shiki Senri. Some other VK characters may come in at some point later on in the story :P**

**This is set throughout 'Eclipse' in the Twilight Saga. **

**I think that's all the important information :D Ah, and it may have a little Shiki x Rima implication in it as well, as well at the original pairings from Twilight. Not too much, because I don't think I can write romance very well.**

**So, let me present:**

**1.**** Chance Meetings**

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><p>"Please remember to enjoy your holiday," Kuran Kaname said, almost serenely. "Of course, gather the information if you can, but don't fret if you can't."<p>

Shiki and Rima bowed, both of their immaculate faces blank.

"Of course, Kaname-sama," Shiki said. "We won't fail you."

Kaname chuckled lightly. "It's not a mission, just a request. Once again, I ask you both to enjoy yourselves." For the second time, the two vampires bowed.

"We shall see you in a while," Rima said. "Please take care. Until then…" She trailed off, and the two of them disappeared into the night.

* * *

><p>"What do you think?" Shiki asked, blue eyes scanning the area. "It looks nice."<p>

"I wonder if this place sells Pocky," Rima said idly. She opened her parasol and held it over her head. "I want some."

Rima and Shiki had decided to take a short vacation, going out of Japan and into North America. It also took them away from their modeling jobs, but neither was really concerned. It was just a break, after all. They would be back soon. Thankfully, both of them had learnt English, picking up the language from their various modeling jobs around the world. Now, they were in a place, which, from the brochure that Shiki held in his hand, was called Phoenix.

They were currently standing inside a huge shopping mall, and the two vampires gazed around with detached interest.

"Something feels strange," Rima murmured after a second. "There's something in this mall that doesn't seem… right."

"I can feel it too," Shiki said. He casually reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of Pocky. Rima turned to glare faintly at him.

"You had Pocky," she accused. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The pair of them were now moving through the mass of shoppers, turning heads with their strange grace and elegance. Rima's clothes were also a subject to staring. Though they looked beautiful on her, they still looked out of place in the 'normal' clothed mall. After all, Lolita-style clothes were not common in America.

"There," Shiki said conversationally. "Look directly to your right."

Rima turned her head, and stared straight into the eyes of a strikingly pretty teenage girl, who had short black hair, yellow eyes and the unsettling air of a predator.

* * *

><p>Alice Cullen didn't consider herself paranoid. She was cautious, yes, but not paranoid. But what she saw in the shopping centre that day suddenly made her change her mind.<p>

Alice, being Alice, had run out of things to do, and being the fashion diva that she was, decided to go to the mall. She didn't pay attention to the people as they walked around her, giving them a wide berth. Her hands twitched as her self control wavered for a second, and the humans just smelled a _tiny _bit more appealing than usual, but then she fought the sudden urge down. Alice had not lost control for a while yet, and she intended to keep it that way.

Though Alice was delighted in the fact that many of her favourite shops were holding a sale today, she could not miss the whispers that surrounded her.

"They're so pretty!"

"I think I've seen them somewhere before."

"Think they're models?"

Unsurprisingly, Alice was curious. She headed in the general direction of the excitement, and saw a male and a female in their late teens.

They were gorgeous, their beauty and charm on the same level as vampires **(A/N Alice means the Twilight version)**. The female had pin-straight hair that was a soft, burnt-orange colour and tied up in two bunches with a fringe and bangs that fell to the side of her face. She had a creamy skin tone, perfectly proportioned body and big, doll-like blue eyes.

The male shared the same, pale skin tone with the female, and he had layered mahogany hair that bordered on being a pale red. He also had blue eyes, ones that hid his emotions and left him looking bored. Both the male and female had the same, indifferent and apathetic look on their faces, and both seemed used to the gawking behaviour.

Alice locked eyes with the female, and the girl felt an uneasy sense of danger from her. Alice frowned, her angelic face puckered. She suddenly felt the need to leave the mall, to tell her family what she saw. Alice quickly left, and when she glanced back, saw that both the male and female watched her go with unblinking eyes.

* * *

><p>"Maybe you're just being paranoid," Esme suggested, her soft voice neutral. "You could have just imagined it."<p>

"I don't think I can imagine this type of feeling," Alice stressed out. "I don't know… it felt like… well, it felt _wrong_."

The entire Cullen family was present, apart from Carlisle, who was working at the hospital. Bella was also absent, since she was grounded by Charlie for multiple reasons, many of them being because of Edward. The said boy – man – ninety year old teen – whatever you wanted to call him – had his eyes closed, frowning. He was trying to read Alice's thoughts and memories of earlier. It was merely three o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, and the day was pleasantly cloudy.

The phone rang, startling Alice out of her thoughts. Emmett picked up the phone curiously. Not many people called the Cullen household. Everyone watched as Emmett's eyebrows rose almost into his hair. The vampires, however, listened to what was being said.

"Hey, this is Sam," the voice at the phone said. "We found two… uh…. well, I don't know what they are, but it's a girl and boy. They seemed a little strange, abnormal. They actually felt a lot like you vampires, so I was wondering if one of you could come and talk to these two."

"What do they look like?" Alice asked. Emmett repeated the question.

"A boy, a girl, late teens. Boy has reddish hair, girl has orange-y hair. Both have blue eyes, and they look like supermodels." All the vampires could hear the grimace in his voice as he said the last part.

"Where are they now?" Emmett asked.

"Well… they kinda wandered into La Push, saying something about a vacation, and then asked if I had seen a girl with black hair and yellow eyes around. I figured the 'yellow eyes' meant you guys, since you're the only ones who have that feature. They're currently at the La Push beach, just kinda staring at the sea. They said they would wait when I told them that I was calling you guys."

"Alright, we'll pick them up at the treaty line," Emmett said. Edward's eyes widened, and he hissed a, "What?"

Emmett shrugged back and continued speaking to the receiver. "See you in ten."

When he hung up, he glanced towards his younger brother.

"We don't know who they are," Edward said in a hard voice. "Why are we suddenly inviting them over to our place?"

"Carlisle did that with Victoria, James and Laurent when we met for the first time," Alice said quietly. "Remember?"

The entire family winced at the memory.

"They are most likely the same people that Alice mentioned before," Jasper said, joining in on the 'discussion'. He turned to Edward. "What did you see in Alice's memories?"

Edward frowned. "Well, they looked like regular humans, except I feel like they're not. I don't know… it's kind of hard to describe."

"Well, can you gauge whether they're dangerous or not?" Rosalie said impatiently, speaking up for the first time.

Edward shrugged. "We should get Carlisle for this."

"Okay, how about Jasper and Edward go and to pick up these two, and on the way, they get Carlisle from the hospital?" Esme suggested. "His shift is almost over, anyway."

Everyone else nodded, and the said vampires disappeared in a flash.

* * *

><p>Shiki and Rima glanced up when they saw the two boys called Sam and Jacob nearing them. The two were still down at the beach. They hadn't moved since they first came; only stared out into the glittering water. The one called Jacob seemed to look as though he had a bad taste in his mouth. His eyes were bitter, and his mouth was set into an unfriendly line.<p>

"Hate talking to those bloodsuckers," Rima heard him mutter. The two boys were outrageously big, and though Rima and Shiki were by no means small, the boys towered over and dwarfed them completely.

"There are going to be a couple of people picking you up," Sam said, ignoring Jacob's comment. "I think they're the people you want to see. They'll be here in ten minutes."

Shiki inclined his head. "Our thanks."

When the two boys had moved away, Rima turned to Shiki.

"Do you know what we're doing?" Rima asked, "Because I don't."

Shiki shrugged. "Go with the flow."

"Well, they could be the people Kaname-sama was talking about," Rima said. She shifted slightly, and her boots dug deeper into the sand. Rima had noticed something different about Sam and Jacob as well. What she detected was faint, and she wasn't sure if she was right, but the aura the two boys gave off was distinctly canine.

"Greetings," said a completely new voice behind them. Rima and Shiki both turned once again, and standing there were three males, all with wary looks on their faces. The one in the middle seemed friendliest, though.

Rima took her dainty time studying each of them. They all had white skin, and oddly enough, bright yellow eyes. She figured it was a dominant allele, genetic mutation thing.

There was one with pale, honey-blonde hair. He seemed the most dangerous out of the three. There was just something about him that screamed, "Warrior!" When Rima looked closely, she could make out the faint outline of strangely shaped scars that crisscrossed each other up and down his exposed arms.

The second had copper-coloured hair, mussed up into a messy hairdo. Though he didn't seem as dangerous as the honey-haired one, he looked the most hostile. After a second of scrutinizing, the boy frowned, and his already apprehensive eyes narrowed even more.

The one in the middle, the one who had spoken, struck Rima as the type to care for people. He had an open face and light blonde hair. On his face was a small smile, most likely there to stop Rima and Shiki from being too suspicious. He looked the oldest out of the three.

"What are your names?" the middle one asked, his smile still in place.

"Isn't it common courtesy to give your name before asking others?" Shiki asked quietly. The man blinked, and then nodded.

"My apologies," the man said. "My name is Carlisle Cullen. These two are my adopted sons, Edward" – he gestured to the brown-haired one – "and Jasper." He gestured to the honey-haired boy.

"My name is Tou- sorry, Rima Touya," Rima said, forgetting that in English-speaking countries, the given name came first.

"Senri Shiki," Shiki said, "I don't mind if you call me Senri, but most people call me Shiki."

Carlisle's face had brightened when they had given their names. "Would you like to come to our house for a little… chat?"

The two of them did not look at each other, but nodded at the time same. The group left the darkening beach, every one of them on their guard, and away from La Push, leaving the eyes of a pack of massive wolves hidden in the shadows.

A howl streaked through the night air.

* * *

><p><strong>Please review ^^<strong>** I will try and update this story as much as possible. I'm also not really familiar with Sam's character, so if he's a little OOC, please forgive me :P**

**Also, I don't live in America, and have never been out of Australia. Therefore, I don't know what Phoenix looks like, nor do I know exactly how far away it is from Forks or its location from Seattle. Well... I could always use a map, and there's Google... but I can't be bothered -.-**


	2. Equivalent Exchange

**Thank you everyone who reviewed in the first chapter! **

**I'm ****kind ****of ****making ****up ****the ****time line ****as ****I ****go, ****though ****it ****will ****be ****within ****the **_**Eclipse **_**boundaries. ****I ****just ****need ****to ****get ****Bella ****over ****to ****see ****them...**

**T****his ****chapter ****is ****also ****on ****the ****same ****day ****as ****chapter ****one.**

**Yes, the title for this chapter is something I got off 'Fullmetal Alchemist' XP**

**2. ****Equivalent ****Exchange**

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><p>It was the weekend, and Bella was free. Charlie had un-grounded her, and she decided to spend her Saturday at Edward's house. In the car, though, Edward was tense and fidgety. Bella sat in silence until she couldn't bear it any longer.<p>

"Edward, what's wrong?" Bella asked softly. Edward blinked and glanced over at her. He stared back at the dark road, and hesitated. Bella frowned. "Edward."

Her sharp tone, or, well, as sharp as she could get with him, suggested that he wouldn't argue. Edward sighed, closing his golden eyes, and then opening them again.

"This afternoon..." he began. She listened patiently. "This afternoon... Sam - you know, from La Push? - called us up and told us that there were two random people who wanted to see a 'girl with black hair and yellow eyes'. Alice saw them today at the mall, and they saw her. Apparently they wandered over to La Push, and have been there for a while until Sam decided to call us. We picked them up only an hour ago."

"Oh." Bella was silent at this, and said nothing more. Her mind whirred frantically. "What do they look like?"

"To be honest, their appearance rivals that of a vampire's. I know they are alive; we can all hear their heartbeat. But, they seem dangerous in a way only us vampires could be." Edward grimaced. "It's strange."

Despite herself, Bella was curious to see them. She wanted to see the two people that had even Edward jumpy and suspicious. Well, he was usually paranoid, anyway, especially when it concerned Bella.

"I don't want you near them, but Carlisle thought that you should come," Edward said. "After all, and I quote, _'Bella's __part __of __the __family __now. __She __deserves __to __know __what's __going __on.'_"

If not for the obvious seriousness of the conversation they were having, Bella would have laughed. Perhaps some of her emotions showed on her face, because Edward took one look at it, and then ground out through his teeth, "It's not funny."

"Sorry, sorry," she mumbled. Edward pulled up to his house, and they both got out. When she reached the front door, it flew open, and Esme engulfed the girl gently in a cool hug.

"Hi, Esme," Bella murmured. Edward was stiffening beside her. He must be reading the minds of his family, and the two strangers.

When Bella entered the living room, she spotted all the Cullens gathered. They called out soft greetings to her, and her eyes raked over all of them, until they finally fell on two newcomers, sitting on the couch.

* * *

><p>Shiki blinked slowly when a girl walked tentatively into the room, and he carefully assessed her. She was harmless.<p>

"Strange," Shiki mused. Everyone snapped to attention, their eyes focused on him, "that you would bring a human girl into your den."

The effect was instantaneous. Everyone, apart from the human, drew in breath so fast that it sounded as though they were hissing. Rima cocked her head beside him, and though the gesture was minute, Shiki noticed that she was readying herself to fight.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked. His voice was guarded. "We are all human here."

"A big white lie," Rima scoffed softly. "We cannot hear your heartbeats, but you still move. You are not human."

"What are you?" Jasper all but snarled. "Normal people cannot tell the difference after meeting us for no more than an hour."

"She smells nice though," Shiki said, not listening to Jasper's question. He drew in a breath, closing his eyes. "I'm thirsty."

"Shiki," Rima warned. The non-humans growled. Her blank mask settled into place. "Careful what you say."

Shiki couldn't help but notice Edward shifting slightly, positioning himself in front of the girl.

"What's her name?" Shiki asked. Everyone blinked at the sudden question. They all hesitated, before the girl herself spoke out.

"Bella. Bella Swan." Her voice was plain and uninteresting, a stark contrast to the other occupants of the room.

"What are you?" Edward said coldly, repeating the question from earlier. Rima shrugged.

"We could ask you the same question," Rima challenged quietly.

"Should we tell them?" Alice said. "They don't seem normal, after all. There are no laws stating that supernatural beings cannot tell what they are to other supernatural beings."

"But what if they really are human?" Rosalie said. She glared at the pair, blonde hair falling over her face.

"We're vampires," Rima said. The comment was so sudden that silence reigned in the room for quite a while.

"What?" Esme said, her face filled with surprise, "Vampires?"

"We have told you what we are, now tell us what _you_ are," Shiki said. Nobody answered him, then...

"Vampires," Bella supplied. "They're vampires."

"..."

"Eh?"

For about five minutes, everyone simply looked at each other.

"Oh," Rima said in her dead voice, sounding not very excited at all for someone who had just had a light bulb moment. She turned to Shiki. "Remember what Kaname-sama said? When he heard that we were going to America? Something about a different race of vampires...?"

Carlisle stepped forward, his handsome face worried. "Care to explain?"

Rima shot Shiki a look that said, _'Why __not?'_

"Well," Shiki said slowly, carefully rearranging his thoughts, "we hail from Japan. In Japan, there are vampires all over the countries, but none such as yours. Rima and I are from a boarding school called Cross Academy. The headmaster, Chairman Cross, has established a school that caters to both vampires and humans." The Cullen family made small noises of shock. Shiki ignored this. "We are separated into Night Classes and Day Classes. The Day Class, as you can guess, is for the human students and are held during the day. The Night Class is for vampires, and is held at night."

"We simply wanted a short break from our part-time jobs," Rima said, taking up the story, "so we decided to travel to America. Kaname-sama told us that he had heard about different vampires from us that reside outside of Japan, particularly in America. He asked us to gather some information about these vampires, and report back to him. He _did_ ask us to enjoy our holiday, though," Rima added as an afterthought.

"We were walking around Phoenix, when we saw Alice," Shiki said, nodding to the said girl. "She gave off an inhuman presence, so we decided to follow her, and ended up in that La Push place. Then, we got helped by two huge boys," he paused, then continued, "who kind of remind us of dogs" – Edward stifled a laugh at this – "and then got picked up by you guys."

"Who's this... Kaname-sama?" Emmett asked. Of course, he was the only one in the room who did not look even remotely worried.

"Our leader, our boss, the person we answer to, it doesn't matter what you call him," Rima said. "He is a pureblood, the head of vampire society."

"Pureblood?" Carlisle echoed.

"Well, picture a pyramid," Shiki said blankly. "At the top are ones we call Purebloods or True-blooded, Level A. They are the most powerful of all vampires, and the fewest. They have special powers that we don't, such as the ability to turn humans into vampires, and they are pure vampires. They have not mixed and interbred at all with humans, and they alone are immortal."

"Rima and I are Level B, the Aristocrats, or Nobles. We have a tiny bit of human blood flowing through our veins, though the majority is vampire. We cannot turn humans into vampires. We are not immortal, but we age far more slowly than regular humans."

"Level C and D are humans who have turned into vampires. If they do not drink the blood of their master, they will descend into Level E, which stands for Level End, and it is not even included in the vampire pyramid. They are no longer human, merely crazed animals who will kill anyone, regardless of who they are in their thirst for blood. It is the job of the Aristocrats to eradicate them. It is our duty, after all."

Carlisle heard the warning in the last sentence. Its meaning was clear: _Do __not __ask __us __too __many __questions. __We __will __not __delve __deeper __into __this __topic._

"What do you mean by 'master'?" Alice asked.

"The master, or mistress, of a Level C, D or E is the one who turned them into vampires," Rima said softly. She paused while the others digested this piece of information. Smugly, or as smug as her monotone voice could get, she said, "We have told you about us, now it is your turn. It is only fair, after all."

Edward sighed. "Well, what do you want to know?"

Shiki shrugged. "Tell us about your type of vampires."

"Our vampires are immortal. Well, basically, we're dead," Carlisle began. "Our hearts have stopped beating, and we are cold. Our skin has hardened, and we have heightened senses, as well as inhuman speed. Our normal prey is humans, and when we drink their blood, our eyes turn red. However, my family and I drink animal blood, therefore our eyes are yellow. We have one mate for life, and the loss of that mate will bring about grief and rage, and the remaining vampire will seek revenge.

"Some of us have abilities, gifts. For example, Edward can read minds, Jasper can sense emotions, and Alice can foresee the future," Carlisle said.

"Many Aristocrats and Purebloods have abilities can well," Rima said. "The Aristocrats mainly have elemental abilities. I can control lightning, and Shiki can manipulate his blood."

"Level B's and A's develop a strange thirst that only the blood of their loved one can quench," Shiki said. "I suppose you could also say we also have soul mates."

Emmett wrinkled his nose. "So… you drink one another's blood?"

"Only your lover's blood," Rima told him. "I suppose you could drink another vampire's blood, but..." She trailed off.

Both parties regarded one another, and it was clear that they both knew the other was hiding something. Shiki narrowed his eyes, and spoke first.

"What about your monarchy?"

Carlisle frowned, hoping they wouldn't enter this subject, but he answered nonetheless. "Currently, we have the Volturi. They are a trio of Italian vampires who rule the vampire world. They are the ones of normally clear up messy situations, such as if a vampire went wild and decided to go on a killing spree. The Volturi would… eradicate that threat. They do not often go to these cases themselves; they have a wide number of guards who do that for them."

He finished and looked expectantly at the two of them. "Originally," Shiki said, "the Purebloods rule, namely the Kuran family. But later on, they decided that they did not want sovereignty, and therefore their power was dissolved, and the Senate was established, mainly made up of Aristocrats. Even though the Kuran family has decided not to rule, there are still a large number of vampires who will gladly follow them should they ever want to claim their place at the top once again."

"Your type of vampires… they only reside in Japan, right?" Rosalie said. Shiki shook his head.

"The majority of us are in Japan, but there are tiny clans throughout Asia, like in China and Korea. Some in India as well, though they are rare," Shiki said. Jasper turned to Carlisle.

"That makes sense," Jasper said. "I know that there are nomads and covens throughout America and Africa, and a couple in Australia, but I have heard nothing about any vampires in Asia."

"So… they must be the vampires of Asia," Alice summarized. Rima and Shiki merely glanced at each other, looking as though they simply didn't care, but storing the information away to report to Kaname later.

"Not a word of this leaves the room," Rima warned. Everyone else nodded their confirmation.

The discussion was finished. Shiki brushed his fingers lightly over Rima's hand while the other vampires contemplated on what to do.

It was Bella who broke the silence. "Do you drink human blood?"

Her gaze was steady, but it wavered a tiny bit. Rima met her eyes head on. Smoldering blue met quiet brown. It was a second before she spoke.

"We used to," Rima said, "but because Kaname-sama has decided to not drink human blood, we follow his lead."

"Oh," Bella said, relief clear in her voice, "so you drink animal blood?"

"We Aristocrats would never lower ourselves to something like that," Shiki said, ignoring the offended looks of the other vampires. "Besides, drinking animal blood is just like us asking you humans to eat your animals raw; not cooked at all. Not very pleasant. We probably could drink it, but we will avoid it whenever we can. There was one crazy, stupid Aristocrat who tried drinking animal blood, and it didn't turn out very well for him. Besides, we will probably slowly kill ourselves. Just like humans eating raw animals, they will most likely contract some sickness or disease from the animal, and die or become severely ill. It may shorten our lifespan or make us unwell if we ever choose to drink animal blood."

"Then what do you drink?" Bella asked curiously.

"We drink blood tablets," Rima said.

"Blood tablets are not as filling as real blood, and it does not fully sate our thirst," Shiki said. "It is merely a cheap imitation." He pulled out a packet, and showed it to them. "We merely drop this in water, and it will dissolve. I suppose you _could_ eat it like medication…"

"We can consume human foods as well," Rima said, thinking back to Ichijo's birthday party, and the massive cake, "but blood is best."

"I suppose animal blood does not satisfy us either," Esme said. "The thirst is still there."

"This Kaname person," Rosalie said, "how loyal are you to him?"

Rima and Shiki both narrowed their eyes. "We listen to whatever he says."

"Dogs," Rosalie muttered under her breath. She evidently thought that they couldn't hear her, but unfortunately, they could hear all too well. As Rima and Shiki thinned their lips, Esme looked scandalized, while Carlisle hurried to apologize.

"I don't really care what you call us; it is irrelevant as to the disrespect you committed to Kaname-sama," Rima said. Her voice was laced with steel. Her smooth face, hiding any emotion she was feeling, made her all the more frightening. Her fingers tingled with barely concealed lightning. "Don't you dare say anything like that again."

"I apologize on behalf of my sister," Edward said, giving them the perfect Japanese bow. He must have studied their culture or something. "She won't do it again." He shot a glare at the offending girl. Rosalie gave them a venomous look, but mumbled an apology all the same.

Bella gave a start, and then gasped out in an apologetic voice, "I'm sorry, but I have to go now." She looked at the clock above their heads. Ten thirty. She glanced at Rima and Shiki sitting on the couch. "Um… it was nice to meet you."

The two of them inclined their heads politely. "The pleasure was all ours."

When Bella and Edward left, Carlisle turned with a sigh back to his guests. "Now… what will you two be doing?"

Both models looked at each other, then back at him.

"Hm," Shiki said, his face blank, "well, we don't really know ourselves."

* * *

><p><strong>I made up the part about VK vampires being in Asia XP It just worked well with the story, so yeah… I simply noticed that in 'Breaking Dawn', Meyer said nothing about vampires coming from Asia, so I just figured VK could be Asian vampires XDDD<strong>

**In my mind, Rosalie is an unpleasant character. Therefore, I made her a little nasty in this chapter. She's better in the last book, but she was pretty cold to Bella in the first three. If I offended you because of this, don't worry, she'll be nicer as we go along.**

**Okay, just to clear this up: everyone in this chapter was very willing to give the other information, because they are both curious about each other. It was an exchange of information. Both parties were talking about their own vampire world, hence the title 'Equivalent Exchange', because they traded information equally, or at least, they roughly did. Plus, neither group are human, so it's not like they were breaking any vampire codes or anything. Most of their protect-our-identity laws concern only humans. Bella doesn't count.**

**Ah, and the werewolves – or shape shifters, whatever you want to call them – will be addressed in the next chapter.**

**Please review ^^**


	3. Level E

**So... my last update was admittedly a long time ago (four months) and I'm sincerly sorry about that. Not that anyone cares...**

**Thank you to the reviewers: Spider's Thread, Sleepyreader319, Fruitloop11, , Vampireknight16 and yinngoh**

**I apologise for the blatant copying from the book.**

**3. Level E**

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><p>"If I asked you to do something, would you trust me?" Edward asked, an edge to his soft voice.<p>

Bella and Edward were almost at school. Edward's knuckles were clenched tight on the steering wheel, and they were white.

"That depends," Bella answered, her voice a whisper as she studied her beloved face with worried eyes.

"I was afraid you would say that."

"What do you want me to do, Edward?"

"I want you to stay in the car." He pulled into his usual spot and turned the engine off as he spoke. "I want you to wait here until I come back for you."

"But… _why_?"

That was when Bella saw him. He would have been hard to miss, towering over the students the way he did, even if he hadn't been leaning against his black motorcycle, parked illegally on the sidewalk.

"Oh."

Jacob's face was a calm mask, used when he wanted to keep his emotions in check. It was barely working. Anger bubbled beneath the surface. His fingers twitched, his jaw was set.

"I'm not staying in the car," Bella said firmly.

Edward groaned quietly. "Of course not. Well, let's get this over with."

Jacob's face hardened as we walked towards them, hand in hand.

Bella noticed other faces, too – the faces of her classmates. How their eyes widened as they took in all of Jacob's long body, muscled up the way no normal sixteen-and-a-half-year-old ever had been. The way they raked over his tight black t-shirt – short sleeved, though the day was unseasonably cool – his ragged, grease-smeared jeans, and the glossy black bike he leaned on.

It was there that Bella finally noticed two new people. Shiki and Rima hovered almost invisibly at the edges, their faces tinged with curiosity. Jacob's eyes flickered over to them; he nodded once – the two of them inclined their heads as well – and then looked away.

Edward stopped a few metres away from Jacob, and Bella could tell that he was uncomfortable having her so close to a werewolf. He drew his hand back slightly, pulling her halfway behind his body.

"You could have called us," Edward said in a steel-hard voice.

"Sorry," Jacob said, his face twisting into a sneer. "I don't have any leeches on my speed dial."

"You could have reached me through Bella's house, of course."

Jacob's jaw flexed, and his brows pulled together. He didn't answer.

"This is hardly the place, Jacob. Could we discuss this later?"

In the crowd, Shiki and Rima listened with rapt attention, their ears cocked as they struggled to make out the muted words through the spectators' annoying mutterings.

"Seems like they're having problems of their own," Rima murmured. She then straightened up, and her vacant face gave way to sudden surprise and shock.

"Level E," she whispered. Shiki frowned slightly and bit his lip.

"It's too close to this school," he said. "It must have smelled all the humans here."

"Edward-san!" Rima hissed. The copper-haired vampire turned his head towards her as his superior ears picked up his name, his golden eyes burning. Jacob also looked at her, but she ignored him. He wouldn't understand. The crowd's mutterings grew in volume. "Level E!"

There was a second as Edward processed what she said, and his eyes widened.

"Where?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

"Too close," Shiki said. "Too close to the school. Do something to distract the students while we draw it away."

"What are you guys talking about?" Jacob asked. His face darkened.

"It doesn't concern you, Jacob," Edward said briskly. His grip on Bella tightened. He raised his voice. "Are you done here?"

Jacob narrowed his eyes. "What are you yelling at me for?"

Shiki and Rima slipped away as Edward initiated an argument, and more students came to watch.

"Where is it?" Shiki asked.

"School gates, coming closer," Rima replied.

"I can sense it," Shiki nodded. He bit his finger, and a long trail of blood splattered out, which he expertly melded into a whip. Lightning sparked in Rima's hands.

The Level E got to them before they got to it. Without warning, just as they passed the last building towards the school gates, a window smashed, and Shiki could only turn just as the Level E leapt onto him.

The Level E was a man. At least, it had been. Matted hair hung from its face, eyes dark, dark red. Its skin was pasty and its nail curved into claws.

They both tumbled to the ground, tangled in a flurry of arms and legs. Shiki rolled over so that he was under the Level E, and then he threw it off of him using his legs.

"Tch," Shiki said in disgust, "it ruined my clothes."

Rima rolled her eyes and then lightning streaked towards the Level E, which was dodged.

"Die!" the creature screeched. Its voice echoed ghastly, its expression contorted and its teeth were bared. Dimly, Rima heard the screech of a motorcycle leaving, and the chatter of students coming their way. She cursed as she saw two latecomers walking through the gate, and they stopped short at the sight of them.

_Going to have to erase their memories,_ Rima thought. _What a bother._

Shiki had managed to get his blood whip wrapped around the Level E's neck, and Rima quickly plunged lightning into its heart. The Level E screamed, its eyes wide, before it slowly faded into dust.

While Shiki tried to fix up his clothes, Rima dashed over to the two latecomers and altered their memories, ignoring the impulses to just stop and rest. Their jaws grew slack, and when they came to, Rima nodded at them and tried to walk away casually.

"Shiki! Rima!" called a voice. The two turned and spotted Edward and Bella hurrying towards them.

"Hello," Shiki greeted them. Edward's face was white.

"Is that what a Level E is?" he asked in an undertone. Rima made a small sound of confirmation.

Edward sighed, and Shiki frowned.

"A Level E shouldn't even be here," he said. "It's strange."

Rima shrugged, daintily wiping her forehead with a handkerchief. "Everything is strange now." Her eyes flickered to Bella and Edward. "Who is Victoria?"

Edward stiffened. "An old friend."

"Who wants to kill Bella?" Shiki guessed. Edward seemed surprised, but he gave them a nod.

"You will have to tell us what the Jacob person and you were fighting about," Rima said. "We don't like to be kept in the dark."

"Fine."

* * *

><p>"Level E aren't meant to stray from Asia," Shiki said. "They're concentrated in Japan, of course. That's where all the fights were, and where all the purebloods are…"<p>

"There are a few possible reasons as to why that Level E is so far west," Rima said. She brushed orange hair out of her eyes and continued. "One: a pureblood is here and is creating Level E. Maybe, but highly unlikely. Two: it may have simply wandered away, though that is next to impossible. It would have to a cross an ocean before getting to America. That leaves three: something is forcing it away."

"Or drawing it closer," Shiki said softly.

The two vampires turned to face a sea of concerned yellow eyes staring at them. It was only a few minutes after the fight, and yet the Cullen family and Bella were already there, using their impossible speed to their advantage. Both Carlisle and Esme gripped each other's hands tightly. The group had taken shelter behind a school building, hidden in the shade. There were still a few minutes until class, but students were milling inside, and so no one saw them. The Culllens' faces were similar in expression; they all looked worried, and some of them were slightly angry.

"Everything was fine until you showed up," Rosalie hissed. "Ever since you've come, we've been experiencing strange foreign vampires, from a race different from ours. Alice keeps on having weird visions, and now something called a Level E attacked the school!"

"So?" Rima said, raising an eyebrow. "It's not our fault."

Rosalie looked murderous, until Carlisle interrupted her with a quiet, "Stop it."

"So what are we going to do?" Emmett asked.

"Well, this may just be a one-time event," Shiki said, shrugging. "It may not be anything. But I'll check with Kaname-sama," he added, speaking to Rima.

As Shiki made to move, several strange things happened at once.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the short chapter and the late update. I was trying to organise my thoughts on this story ;D Hopefully, in the next chapter, I'll know exactly what I'm planning to do for this.<strong>


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